Hominy-mill.



"0,628,516. Patented July :1, I899.

-- I J. BEALL.

HOMINY MILL.

(Application filed Aug. 18, 1898. (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet l.

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J. BEALL.

HOMINY MILL.

(Application filed Aug. 18, 1898.)

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(No Model.)

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J. BEALL- HOIMNY MILL.

(Application filed Aug. 18, 1898.) (NoIodaL) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

l N\/E NTOFR JOHN BEALL T53 Him/9 11; 5 QitD-rnu,

.fined in the appended claim.

ergy to a detrimental and sometimes injur'i-' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN BEALL, OF DECATUR, ILLINOIS.

HOMINY-M ILL.

SPECIFiCATiON forming part 612* Letters Patent No. 628,516, dated July 11, 1899-.

Application filed August 13, 1 89 8.

To all whom it may concern:

vBe it known that I, JoHN BEALL, of the city of Decatur, county of Macon, and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Hominy-Mill, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is intended to break grains of corn and remove the germ and skinfrom the broken pieces. It is exemplified in the structure hereinafter described, and it is de- In a hominy-mill as heretofore commonly constructed a corrugated cylinder runs in a toothed concave or shell. The corn is fed forcibly into one end of the space between the cylinder and the shell and held against free passage from the other end of the space until a mass of corn is packed between the shell and the cylinder with sufficient firm ness to insure breakage of the grains and scouring of the pieces by friction. The grain is forced into breaking contact with the corrugations of the cylinder and the protuberances of the shell by the forced feed andrestricted discharge, and the extent of breakage can be controlled only by increasing or diminishing the pressure on the mass in the mill. The scouring is effected largely by rubbing grain against grain. The breaking and the scouring are effected simultaneously in the same compartment, and the space between the cylinder and the shell is invariable. The-friction develops heat and diverts enous extent, the force consumed being always in excess of the work actually performed and the heat produced sometimes causing the grain to blockthe mill.

It is my object to overcome the discrepancies hereinbefore enumerated, and laccomplish this result by combining a cylinder and shell with a cone and shell in a manner hereinafter described. The cone and shell act as a breaker for the corn and the cylinder and shell 'act as a scourer, though some scouring is necessarilyincidental to the breaking. The breakin -surfaces are adjustable toward and from each other by shifting the cone axially. The scouring is done largely by metal acting against grain. There is no restricted discharge and therefore no packing of grain in Serial No. 688,520. (No model.)

the cylinder-shell with consequent develop ment of heat and misapplication of energy.

In the drawings forming part of this specification, Figure l is a central vertical section through a mill embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan of the mill with the upper half of the shells removed. Fig. 3 is a transverse section through the scouring-cylinder and the shell thereof. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing the preferred form and arrangement of the protuberances on the shells and also illustrating position of clearance-openings used in the lower part of the shells to relieve the mill from dust as fast as it is formed.

A horizontal shaft 3 is journaled on crossbars 2 of a suitable frame 1, and a ribbed feedband 4, a corrugated cone 6, and a corrugated cylinder 7 are fixed on the shaft. The feedband has ribs 5 set obliquely in a direction to feed the grain toward the small end of the cone. The cone is conjoined to or abutted against the feed-band, and the cylinder is the same diameter as the large end of the cone and is placed against such large end in a manner to form a continuation thereof. The cone has a shell 8, andthe cylinder has a shell 10 conjoining with shell 8. The front end of shell 8 is closed, except fora feed-passage 8 and the rear end of shell 10 is closed, except for-a discharge-opening 12 in its lower side, which passage is preferably encompassed ver tically by a guard-frame 13, which directs the escaping products downward and prevents them from scattering; The shell of the cylinder is made in parts, preferably four in numher, as shown in Fig. 3. The conjoining edges are flanged, as at 10, to provide for securingbolts, and between the flanges are placed strips,as 23,which may be removed to diminish the diameter of the shell whenever wear of operative surfaces requires such readjustment. The protuberances of the shells are preferably made on plates independent of and detachable from the outer shells, so that worn parts may be replaced with facility. The removable plates of the cone-shell are shown at 9 and those of the cylinder-shell are shown;at 11. These plates are secured to the outer shells by bolts or the like, and they have interiorly-extended protuberances that cooperate with the corrugated cone and cylinder to break the grains and scour the particles. The protuberances 21 are preferably rounded, conical, oval, or hemispherical, and they are advisably disposed alternately or staggered, as shown in Fig. 4. The lower parts of the shell are supplied with openings, as 22, which tend to relieve the mill of dust, &c., as fast as it is formed. The cone and the cylinder are corrugated, the corrugations have each a long side and a short side, and the shaft is turned in a direction to strike the sharp edges of the corrugations against the grain. This construction and operation of the cone and the cylinder are notinvariable, however, and it is only essential that the cone, the cylinder, and the shells have roughened surfaces of some kind, between which the grains may be broken and scoured. The taper of the cone is slightly more abrupt than is the taper of its shell, and so the space between the two contracts toward the large end of the cone. The shaft is shiftable lengthwise in its bearings in order that the distance between the cone and its shell may be readily varied to suit the kind and condition of grain under treatment and insure proper breakage of such grain.

The means preferably employed to shift the shaft lengthwise comprises a collar 14, fixed on the shaft, a collar 15, mounted loosely in an annular groove in collar let and having trunnions 16, and a lever 17, pivoted on a bracket 19 on one side of the frame, engaging the trunnions, and swingably adjustable on the bracket 18 on the opposite side of the frame.

In operating the mill the corn is supplied to the feed-band through the opening 8 and is forced by the oblique ribs of the band onto the small end of the cone. The cone is adjusted. with relation tothe shell in a manner to properly break the grains as they travel through the space between the cone and the shell thereof. Incidental to the breaking of the grains the corn is scoured to some little extent but the greater part of the scouring is effected in the space between the cylinder and its shell. The grain is carried through the cone-compartment by centrifugal force, and such force, developed in the'cone-compartment, also compels the broken grains to pass through the space between the cylinder and the shell thereof. The breaking action depends on the relation of the cone to its shell, a matter capable of regulation, and the scouring depends partly on impact of the protuberances and corrugations against the grains and partly on friction of the grains against the corrugations and protuberances and among themselves. There is no restraint of discharge of the broken and scoured grain other than is necessary to direct it to a proper receptacle, and consequently there is no packing of grain in the cylinder-compartment to develop heat and impede the running of the mill.

What I claim is A hominy-mill consisting of a frame, a shaft longitudinally shiftable in its bearings in the frame, a breaking-cone on the shaft, a scouring-cylinder on the shaft conjoined to the large end of the cone and forming a continuation thereof, and shells encompassing the cone and the cylinder and cooperating therewith in their respective breaking and scouring operations, the mill having a feed-opening at the small end of the cone and an unobstructed discharge-opening at the far end of the cyl inder, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I sign my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN BEALL] Witnesses:

JAMES M. LEE, L. P. GRAHAM. 

